I honestly thought this book was going to be one of those self-help books that was full of “fluff” and kept repeating the same message, but I was pleasantly surprised and did enjoy this book. There were a lot of useful, blunt and well-researched anecdotes.

p.XV - peace with yourself

p.1 - the call to stillness comes quietly

p.8 - trinity of mind, body and soul

p.16 - use time as a tool

p.16 - aggressive conduct if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, eventually leads to war

p.17 - seek solitude (space)

p.23 - The Artist Is Present by Marina Abramović

p.25 - The hardest thing is actually doing something close to nothing…Being present demands all of us.

p.27 - Tolstoy observed that love can’t exist off in the future

p.31 - it is essential that each of us learns how to filter the inconsequential from the essential

p.31 - “CNN Effect” / “FOMO”

p.31 - “If you wish to improve, Epictetus said, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters”

p.32 - give things a little space, don’t consume news in real time, be a season behind on the latest trend or cultural phenomenon, don’t let your inbox lord over your life.

p.32 - There is ego in trying to stay up on everything

p.33 - “Eisenhower box”

p.39 - “Chop wood, carry water”. Breathe, don’t think.

p.42 - achieve a void

p.69 - confidence from experience, not ego

p.70 - imposter syndrome is ego driven

p.71 - Before the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant experienced a long chain of setbacks and financial difficulties. He washed up in St. Louis, selling firewood for a living – a hard fall for a graduate of West Point. An army buddy found him and was aghast. “Great God, Grant what are you doing?” he asked. Grant’s answer was simple: “I am solving the problem of poverty.” … Why hate himself for working for a living? What was shameful about that?

p.75 - work for wisdom, not reward. Detach even from the idea of an outcome.

p.77 - slow is smooth. smooth is fast.

p.78 - get lost in the process

p.79 - the lotus flower embodies the principle of letting go

p.119 - enough is a beautiful thing

p.120 - stop to think for a moment about what you are chasing

p.121 - enjoying the process is the true goal. The need for progress can be the enemy of enjoying the process.

p.122 - the greatest misfortune is to not know contentment

p.122 - To have blessings and to prize them is to be in Heaven; to have them and to not prize them is to be in Hell…To prize them and to not have them is to be in Hell.

p.123 - We don’t always realize we already do

p.124 - You will never feel okay by way of external accomplishments. Enough comes from inside. It comes from stepping off of the train.

p.130 - in noticing we become alive to the stillness

p.132 - shinrin yoku - “forest bathing”. Do not jog. Do not run.

p.135 - Step 2 isn’t really about God. It’s about surrender. To let go.

p.139 - Nihilism is a fragile strategy

p.141 - “Facts”/“Truths”/“Proofs” are true until they aren’t. Unproven facts are infinite.

p.164 - Movement is the foundation of stillness

p.171 - Make room for joy even during war.

p.173 - routine

p.175 - “A big year will soon begin and much depends on keeping your fit”. This sounds very similar to a manager of mine!

p.176 - never hesitate in front of a canvas. Dont think

p.178 - love the discipline and let it support you

p.196 - walk away from thoughts that need to be walked away from; walk toward the ones that have now appeared. Let the walk guide your thoughts

p.201 - complete freedom is a nightmare

p.206 - property is poverty and fear. man can only lose what he has. I live by this mentality that if I can’t fit everything that I really care about in a 21L backpack, then I shouldn’t have it.

p.210 - “Comfort creep” We get so used to a certain level of convenience and luxury that it becomes almost inconceivable that we used to live without it.

p.225 - work will not set you free. It will kill you if you are not careful

p.226 - don’t burn out. protect the gift

p.240 - it’s the humility of being bad at something because we are a beginner, but having the confidence to trust in the process. No one is making us do this. We can quit if we’re struggling, we can cut corners and cheat (ourselves) without fear of repercussion. No money is on the line the motivate us, no rewards or validation but the experience.

p.240 - do leisure well

p.240 - too many people alternate between extreme binges (work, watching tv)

p.246 - build a life that you dont need an escape from